I'm an Australian currently working for a Dutch company in the Netherlands. We are marketing a software product internationally and whenever we have a stand at a conference or trade fair, we have a large sign with the message:

"Are you sure that the financial results you present your shareholders are correct?"

Now I think that it's embarassing to the company if we have signs which are grammatically incorrect, and I've had a long debate with the person responsible. He tells me that he's 100% sure that it is correct American English and that as an Aussie I'm not in a position to question him.

So are there any American English speakers out there how can tell me whether it's grammatically correct or not?

AnonymousHi all. I hope someone can help settle an argument for me please.

I'm an Australian currently working for a Dutch company in the Netherlands. We are marketing a software product internationally and whenever we have a stand at a conference or trade fair, we have a large sign with the message:

"Are you sure that the financial results you present your shareholders are correct?"

Now I think that it's embarassing to the company if we have signs which are grammatically incorrect, and I've had a long debate with the person responsible. He tells me that he's 100% sure that it is correct American English and that as an Aussie I'm not in a position to question him.

So are there any American English speakers out there how can tell me whether it's grammatically correct or not?

Thanks Nona and GG, and thanks for not pointing out the error in my post ('how' instead of 'who'). It's kind of intimidating posting on a forum like this - I feel like every word is under a microscope.

Anyway, Nona said exactly what I said to the guy concerned. As far as I know you can either present something to someone or present someone with something. So either 'to' or 'with' must appear in the sentence. The only exception I'm aware of is when the 'to someone' is implied. e.g. 'I went to the board meeting and presented the results (to the board).' or Í would like to present the results (to you).'

Thanks again for the responses and I'd appreciate any other opinions, especially from...I was going to say native Americans but that doesn't sound quite right. Let's say American-born people.

Thanks again guys. I'm surprised to find that it is correct AE, in which case I guess you can say, "I presented the shareholders the results" and omit 'with' completely. Anyway I won't bother pursuing it. About 20-30% of our presentations are in the US, and for others I guess it's a fairly trivial mistake.

Wwwdotcom, I checked that link but it seems to be discussing cases where 'to' precedes the verb rather than my case where it follows ('present to').